1. Field of the Art
The present invention relates to a database system shared by multiple client apparatuses connected thereto by a network, and more particularly a database system that effectively takes into its database duplicate data redundantly created by client apparatuses and a method of constructing the database. Further, the present invention includes application to character processors.
2. Background Art
A database system connects to itself multiple client apparatuses, for example personal computers, through a network, and the client apparatuses share a database. Such a database system is well-known.
In a database system of this kind, data necessary for a user is sometimes not registered in the shared database. In such a case, the user creates its own data file using the memory of a client apparatus for individual use.
However, considering the whole system, the creation of individual data files on the part of users involves inefficiency described in the following.
It is a waste of resources as well as of time and labor, if multiple users own data of the same content redundantly in their data files. Further, a shared database becomes huge, and utilization efficiency declines, if all data supposed to be necessary is registered in the shared database beforehand to avoid such waste.
For example, consider a translation system in which a number of terminal computers are connected to a server computer that has a shared dictionary for translation. In this case, translation in various professional fields can be made possible, if the server computer has dictionaries specialized for various professional fields. However, all of these dictionaries are rarely used. Nevertheless, the dictionaries kept in the server system are often still insufficient in their contents, within an individual professional field. For example, natural science has many fields such as biology, medical, chemistry, mechanical, electrical, and electronics, etc. Further, each of these fields is further divided into many fields. Moreover, each field itself varies as research develops.
Therefore, such a demand for comprehensiveness is limitless, and the dictionaries of the server side cannot accommodate it. On the other hand, it is an exceedingly heavy burden for the users side to be completely equipped with their own dictionaries.